Attorneys Darrell Cochran, Christopher Love, and Alexander Dietz filed a class action wage theft lawsuit on behalf of current and former members of the Washington State Patrol. The lawsuit alleges violations of the Washington Minimum Wage Act and the Washington Wage Rebate Act.
According to allegations, the Washington State Patrol policy of not paying troopers for commute time in marked patrol cars is unlawful because they are essentially “on duty.” While commuting, troopers are required to respond to traffic violations, emergency dispatch calls and accidents they encounter.
Troopers are allowed to request payment for emergency responses during their commutes, but the agency regularly underpays or declines to pay them.
“Now is not the time for the State to be shortchanging our first responders, taking a nickles-and-dimes approach to compensating the men and women who serve as Washington State Patrol troopers,” said Darrell Cochran. “We want the best of the best serving as troopers. And you can only get that by being fair. It is time to do right by paying them for all the time they put in on the job.”
An unspecified amount of back pay and damages are requested in the lawsuit, which is set for trial in 2024.
Media coverage about the lawsuit:
“Should WA troopers be paid for commuting to work in marked cars? A lawsuit’s been started,” published in The News Tribune, Tri-City Herald, Yakima Herald Republic, and The Chronicle.